


between snowflakes and square one

by sunsetmarks



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, JaeDo, Light Angst, M/M, Mentioned Nakamoto Yuta, Romance, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, dojae
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:08:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23371450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunsetmarks/pseuds/sunsetmarks
Summary: Jaehyun decides to spontaneously spend a day trying to know what the number inked on his wrist meant.
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung
Comments: 5
Kudos: 147





	between snowflakes and square one

The seasons change way too quickly. It was just like yesterday when the snow fell, flowers bloomed, sun scorched, then the leaves fell. The same way his habits change way too sudden, it was just like yesterday when Jaehyun knew how to write—when he knew his way around words.

It has been a year since Jaehyun noticed a number inked on his wrist. The last time he looked at it was a month ago, he had the number eleven written. He couldn’t tell if it meant years or days or months. Since it became visible on his skin during the fall, he wore sweaters too much that he forgot about it eventually. Along with the fact that he was skeptical of the whole soulmates thing. His friends tried convincing him, but Jaehyun often responded with “a soulmate is someone who would understand you, not necessarily the person who you would end up with.” He earned the stink eye a couple of times, but he stood by what he believed in.

The sun seeped through the blinds, hitting his eyes. His eyes were half opened as he watched the cold breeze billowing the curtains. Today felt different. His mind wasn’t in its usual state. He didn’t feel upset; instead, he felt rather hopeful. Not having any plans, Jaehyun decides to go out and relax at a café he looked up. He didn’t bother checking his phone before leaving his place despite the almost fifty notifications on his lock screen.

The aroma of brewed coffee filled the air, songs about love played on the radio, quiet laughter brightened the place. Jaehyun subtly tries to look at the man in front of him. His eyes shifting from the man to his drink to his phone and to the man again. He can’t remember being this nervous around someone he didn’t know, but somehow it struck him.

It has been his recurring dream that he saw a man. It was often a silhouette and more of a voice. The silhouette didn’t give much of a hint, but Jaehyun knew he would figure it out the moment he sees the man in real life. The voice was sweet as if it was drenched in honey. Incapable of anger, incapable of shouting. The voice once sang, and he recalls it. It was a soft lullaby.

It came to his senses that he shouldn’t be expecting that that man was the one in his dreams, no, he hated expecting. Jaehyun hated the pains of expecting and the lingering tones of what-ifs. However, at this point, boundaries are pushed away. There was a reason he was feeling this way, he was already a nervous wreck.

Jaehyun rhythmically drums his fingers on the table, making the man’s eyes flicker to him in response; his forehead wrinkled in confusion. All Jaehyun wanted was to hear him speak. His eyes trained on the man’s face, observing him. Their eyes meet momentarily. The man looked as equally as nervous as he is, lips parting as if he doesn’t know whether he should say something or not... Maybe not, the man looks back down on the novel he’s reading.

Seven, eight, nine minutes pass, and the man stood up from his seat. He slings his bag on his shoulder, staring at a distance. His eyes quickly shift to Jaehyun, “wanna come with?”

Who was Jaehyun to say no when the man sounded like the one in his dreams? All it took was three words, and he was assured. The man walks out of the café, and Jaehyun was still standing there. He snaps out of his trance-like state, he grabs his drink and walks almost briskly out of the shop. In hopes of catching up to the man.

It has been said that every falling leaf leads to the start of winter. They both stand there, looking up to the sky. Did they miss the memo? It was the first day of winter. It wasn’t typical for the snow to fall this early, but it did. Jaehyun glances at the man and notices how they were both wearing a hoodie and a pair of Vans. On the contrary, everyone around them was bundled up with padded coats, boots, and to top it off, they wore gloves.

The man walks forward, arms stretched, and palms ready to catch snowflakes. He tilts his head back, eyes closed. At that moment, Jaehyun forgets the fact that they just met. It felt like they knew each other for years, a connection that has been long forgotten.

It felt as if everyone was silenced, that everyone in that plaza decided to shut up when the man started to speak. “Let’s go,” he tucks his hands in the kangaroo pocket of his hoodie.

Jaehyun visibly blushes, and he uses the excuse that it was cold when the man asked him about it. He didn’t want to budge, but in his peripheral view, the man looked back at him many times. He probably could tell he was lying. It’s okay with Jaehyun, his heart was fluttering in winter. That alone felt fulfilling.

It was awkward walking around Seoul with a man whose name he didn’t know of. What made it even awkward was how he assured himself that this was the man in his dreams. How he has been observing him and wanting to hear his voice to finally piece out the puzzle. “I’m Jaehyun.”

“Doyoung.”

Like a series of flashbacks, Jaehyun is suddenly taken back to the moment he noticed a number on his wrist. To recently that he decided to look at it, seeing the number eleven. He takes a deep breath before pushing down the sleeves, slowly revealing the number zero. He cocks his head in question. He tries to recall if Doyoung had a number on his wrist too when he was catching snowflakes a little while ago. He didn’t, he didn’t have a number. Jaehyun starts to think deeply about how it was possible that he had one and Doyoung doesn’t.

“Jaehyun, are you okay?” Doyoung stutters, tapping Jaehyun’s shoulder, and the latter shakes his head; he is sent back to reality.

“Yeah, I am. I’m okay,” he wasn’t. Jaehyun didn’t want to piece out the puzzle way too soon, but it was forming on its own right in front of him. There was a reason for the number, and at this point, he knows it meant days. Jaehyun decides to settle with the thought that it has already been eleven days since he last saw the number inked on his skin. It brought him to where he is now. Strolling the city with a stranger who he shared a table with at the coffee shop. It was rather an unexpected turn to his day, but he would gladly take it.

“What are your interests?” Doyoung asks, eyes looking around. Possibly admiring the trees slowly getting covered in snow. “Beautiful,” Doyoung freezes, stopping in his tracks. Snowflakes fall lightly on his face, glistening as the sun hits it. His eyes fluttering closed. Jaehyun knew it was rude to stare, but he couldn’t help himself. It was very familiar. Doyoung had the same features from the silhouette in his dreams. He wanted to remember his name forever if they ever part ways at the end of the day. Moments like this—moments that are spontaneous are the moments that are remembered as long as they were under the same sky.

“I like writing and taking photographs,” Jaehyun answers, eyes still staring at Doyoung. If he had his camera right now, the gallery would be filled with the man. The way the snowflakes fell on Doyoung’s cheekbone was something worth keeping a memory of. However, it was better this way. He doesn’t mind if he couldn’t keep it in his pocket and take it out when he wanted to be reminded of that moment. It was better than seeing it through a lens, he knew that looking at it through his eyes was the best way to capture something as beautiful as this.

Jaehyun also lied, he doesn’t like writing anymore. Well, maybe it just came with a notion of trauma from the last time he wrote a narrative. Not too long ago, Jaehyun fell in love. He wrote down all the emotions he has been bottling up ever since him, and his best friend first met to when Jaehyun knew he was falling in love with his best friend to when they started dating. Truth be told, Jaehyun wasn’t one to express his feelings through actions, he was better at writing them. His ex-boyfriend, Yuta, broke up with him the same day Jaehyun read him the piece that he has been writing since the day they met. Also, it was also their first year anniversary. That day alone made him crumble. He didn’t want to write anymore. He lost all motivation to do so, and mustering the confidence to write again wasn’t in the picture. Possibly until a day comes when it doesn’t hurt as much anymore (which wasn’t anytime soon.)

“I like writing too, and I also love reading,” Doyoung’s hands fall, and it’s once again in his pocket, searching for warmth. Jaehyun shakes his head and looks down at his feet when their eyes made eye contact. He heard this before, in his dream, he supposed. The thought of it makes him feel giddy. Without noticing, he was already smiling as he admired the scene. Snow falling on the trees painting the leaves white, streetlights lighting up one by one, Doyoung spinning around on his place in awe. It was _magical_.

Jaehyun simply stands there, watching it all happen in front of him. It felt like he was in a dream, everything was perfect. Starting from how a total stranger would invite him to walk together on the first day the snow falls. In his mind, the words begin to fall into place. It formed itself into phrases into sentences into paragraphs. The innumerable feelings Jaehyun felt at that particular moment was because of Doyoung. He lost his connection with words, at least that’s what he thought.

He wanted to remember this day, the day he forgot the pain. It felt as if he was back to square one. The day he first realized that he wanted to write. The day he wrote almost a hundred drabbles. The day he sat in front of his laptop to look up synonyms and adjectives that would perfectly fit his thoughts and intentions.

Jaehyun knew he only needed time away from writing. He wanted to avoid pouring out paragraphs on paragraphs about the sadness he felt. He wasn’t one to write about sadness. Whenever his pen touches paper, he wishes that his mind would bring him to his positive thoughts. He wanted to write about what made him happy or what made his heart skip a beat. Jaehyun knew the words he wanted to say, he knew how to express himself.

He suddenly wanted to whip out his phone and write about how he fell for the other in a short span of time. How he was absentmindedly drawn to his galaxy filled eyes, sweet laugh, and genuine smile. In that short time, Doyoung made his worries disappear.

Doyoung lets out a loud sigh catching Jaehyun’s attention. “I’m cold,” he says, crossing his arms across his chest. Jaehyun understood. It was evening and the breeze was colder.

“Is there anything you want?” Jaehyun asks, scanning what shops are around them. When Doyoung started to pout like a little boy while he was trying to think, he wanted to chuckle.

“Let’s get hot chocolate,” Doyoung points at the café where they met earlier. Jaehyun watches Doyoung walk to the shop.

Was thinking about it an option? His eyes shift to Doyoung’s hand swaying. “I’ll hold your hand,” Jaehyun whispers as their fingers lace together. “Sorry,” he apologizes, glancing at Doyoung.

“It’s okay,” the man smiles at him. He tightens the grip, and Jaehyun could swear Doyoung makes him the happiest. After a long time, he finally spent a day without thinking about his ex-boyfriend, without reminding himself about the lingering pain, without being reminded that he was no longer good with his words. At least for that day alone, he remembers what it feels like to be happy.

They found a park bench that fit them perfectly. Jaehyun takes the cup between his hands to stop himself from shaking, relying on the heat of his hot chocolate. They watched the branches sway lightly following the rhythm of the wind blowing. Jaehyun watched Doyoung take a sip of his drink. The silence between them was deafening. As if Jaehyun said that out loud, Doyoung quietly sang one of Jaehyun’s favorite songs. He feels his cheeks flushing in amazement. 

Jaehyun places his empty cup down and joins Doyoung, who was already looking up at the sky. The stars were painted across the night sky, it was such a sight to see. As if the day wasn’t already perfect, they were now stargazing. Unconsciously, their fingers intertwined. He noticed Doyoung’s face turning red.

“Jaehyun,” Doyoung says, facing Jaehyun. Doyoung stares intently at him, but he miserably fails to look into the other’s eyes.

Jaehyun couldn’t think about anything else, right now it was only Doyoung. The moonlight shone brightly, Jaehyun noticed how beautiful his features are. He never got the chance to look at Doyoung this close until now.

Doyoung’s face moves closer to Jaehyun’s, and he closes the gap between them. Jaehyun felt as if the world was spinning again after it stopped the day he experienced his first heartbreak. Today, he knew his heart was mending. The empty space being replaced by Doyoung. Their kiss was formal, it gave a continuous idea that they were still strangers.

Jaehyun pulls away, his thumb caressing Doyoung’s cheek. Before Doyoung could open his eyes, Jaehyun presses his lips on Doyoung’s once again. The second time was better, _so much better_. The kiss was slow and soft, it was almost innocent and comforting.

They didn’t want the night to end, they sat on the bench for another few minutes. Doyoung’s head resting on Jaehyun’s shoulder. They talked about the simple things. Like how Doyoung was a year older than Jaehyun, he could play the flute, his favorite season is spring, he likes scented candles… the list went on and on as they talked until late at night.

As much as they wanted to spend more time with each other, they find themselves at the train station a few blocks away from the plaza. It was time to go and call it a day. Jaehyun wasn’t ready for it, he wasn’t prepared for them to part ways. His days haven’t been this perfect, and he hasn’t been this happy. They were about to take two separate trains, two different directions.

Jaehyun’s eyes fixate on Doyoung, who was on the other platform of the train station. Doyoung returned eye contact, forcing a smile on his face, and Jaehyun knew that he felt the same. No one could deny that in the few hours they spent together, they knew what it felt being the main characters of an unwritten novel. Doyoung’s train arrived first, and Jaehyun looked down at his phone since the man he was looking at was no longer there. Jaehyun feels a strong pang in his chest and he was reminded of the pain he felt during his breakup with Yuta. When his words were wasted, when it no longer had any meaning. Jaehyun bites his lips as hard as he can to stop his tears from streaming down his face.

The moment he arrives home, he falls to his knees. Without thinking twice, Jaehyun pushes his sleeves down to reveal that the number eleven was there once again.

“What?”

_It measured distance. Doyoung and Jaehyun were eleven miles away from each other._


End file.
